What classics did you watch this week? (1/2-1/9)

Where to start!

I had a great time with Eagle Eye, my review from 2008 >


A timely reminder of what makes action/thriller movies fun.

Jerry and Rachel are two strangers thrust together by a series of scenarios put together by a mysterious female caller. Under threat to their families and themselves, both Jerry & Rachel must overcome the most hazardous of situations. Intriguingly everything around them seems to be controlled by the female voice that guides them, but just why is the FBI so hot on their tail?, does Jerry's twin brother hold the key?, all will be answered as our protagonists hurtle towards something that could have deadly consequences for America.

Big Brother gets a reboot and delivers a dumb, but as fun a genre picture as you will see this year. Yes it's total nonsense, but really the critics venting spleen on this one must have gone thru a popcorn entertainment bypass prior to viewing it. Director D.J. Caruso continues his Hitckcockian leanings by following his surprisingly fun Disturbia with this North By Nothwest meets a host of genre staples, the influences are very hard to miss. Yet as daft as it is, and it is folks, Eagle Eye knits together to play out as a highly accomplished piece, the action is first rate, in fact on the big screen the two main sequences explode with joyous action abandon. It isn't found wanting on the thriller front either, it's safe to say that no new ground is to be found as we get to the tick tock countdown finale, but Caruso, and writers John Glenn & Travis Wright, have molded together a series of wholly interesting and thrilling strands, so much so that the finale is unable to deliver on the promise of the prior build up.

Shia LaBeouf seems destined to be a young actor who has to earn even the tinniest bit of respect, much like DiCaprio, i feel LaBeouf is sadly not going to get credit till later in his career. After being sidekicks to John McLaine, Indiana Jones, and erm, Optimus Prime, LaBeouf here earns his acting spurs and carries the film with a charm and credibility that the daftness of the piece doesn't deserve. Shia is helped enormously by a strong female lead, Michelle Monaghan has an impressive ability to sweat strength whilst channelling believable emotional turmoil, and her interplay with LaBeouf is the heartbeat of the picture. Of the rest, Michael Chiklis is a bit underused, but this is offset by Billy Bob Thornton continuing that knack of being one of the most watchable actors of his generation. Rosario Dawson is sadly weak and William Sadler is barely noticeable, but a nod of approval goes to Anthony Mackie who shines in a crucial sequence towards the end.

I went to the cinema with the two ladies in my life, we were a bit early and sat in the foyer for a while, we watched as they were queuing out the door for High School Musical 3 and weird looking people were trundling in to see Saw 5. There was a total of 12 people in the cinema to see Eagle Eye on its second week, at a peak viewing time as well. That's a dam shame because Eagle Eye may well be a dumb and fun action/thriller picture, but it's not pro porting to be anything else, and really films with honest intent are to be treasured and used for why they are made for in the first bloody place, Eagle Eye is made for those who want to shut off from the world for a couple of hours, and few films this past year have delivered what they meant to do. 7.5/10
I really disliked The Whole Nine Yards and vanished it from my memory bank 

I haven't got a review to share with you as regards Runaway Jury, but I really like yours. I'm a sucker for anything court room based and I liked this different slant on the usual heavy drama of court based movies.

Ah, Kuffs, when I first landed on IMDb some 13 years ago, I was one of only two people who actually owned up to liking the film! So it's nice to see a positive review for it. There are moments in it I have been known to use in real life, notably his reaction when the car runs over his joint of meat  Whilst I used to annoy one of my ex girlfriends by saying "love and kisses on all your pink parts" when we was in social company 

I sneaked into the theatre to see Death Race 2000 and ended up having pictures of the cars on my bedroom door. As I got older I started to enjoy it more for its biting acidity than the CARnage aspects.



The Spikeopath - Hospital Number 217